Mark Howarth

Waddy and the Mushers: Home Mark Howarth

My name is Waddy, and I am a Musher, about six inches tall. I live in a huge forest under a giant redwood tree. In fact, I live with lots of Mushers. A Musher is what we call ourselves, simply because of one thing: we all eat mushrooms and nothing else. We are all just one big family and live underground in the roots of this huge redwood tree. It's home for lots of Mushers and has been for lots of years. We call it Redwood Valley. My Mother whose name is Melena, tried to change the way the Mushers worked in the valley by using the stream to generate power. She was in the middle of trying to build something in the stream, when what we believe was that the rivers some miles away rose with all the rain water and created the stream that runs next to our valley to flood. My Mother got washed away, all the Mush squad and my Father searched for weeks but could not find her. We all believe she's out there somewere and one day I know I will find her. Nobody can go out of the valley, apart from the Mush Squad, as it's too dangerous. These soldiers are trained to keep all the nasty insects and animals away (even though we have some as pets, like ladybugs and caterpillars). I will become a soldier one day; I've just got to prove to my dad that I'm capable of being one. So I set out on an adventure with some of my best friends, without my dad or, even worse, without the king of Redwood Valley knowing. The risks are high, but I must succeed, as this particular adventure is a very important one for me and to finish the job my Mother had started in the stream. Who knows maybe I will find my Mother too.